For those of us who started our careers a couple decades ago (or more), poly-work, a term now used to describe people working multiple full-time jobs, was considered a ‘fireable’ offense.

 

No one could have foreseen — not even with the clearest crystal ball — the massive shift in workplace practices prevalent that have become unexpected consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic then supercharged thanks to AI.  At Sapience, we are certainly seeing an increase in activity suggesting  poly-work is on the rise over the past few years.

 

Now, several years post-pandemic large categories of the workforce remain remote, with flexible or hybrid models becoming the norm across many industries and roles. What leaders now must consider is whether poly-work is the trend that could most impact the workforce going forward.  If so, it presents significant implications to capacity planning, skills management, workforce technology investments, compensation models and more.

 

What Exactly is Poly-Working?

Poly-working is the practice of holding multiple remote jobs simultaneously; and often implying at least more than one full-time job, it can also result in collecting benefits from multiple employers.  The ability for an individual to pull this off is usually the result of a) the level of workload assigned requiring less than a ‘full day,’ combined with b) enabling technologies giving that same individual “productivity boosting super-powers,” (yes, AI).

Many of today’s workers have decided they don’t want to return to the office full-time, with hybrid or even fully remote work becoming their preference. This shift, along with technological advances, has enabled inclined workers to split their work week between several employers – presumably meeting the expectations for each.

 

With the advent of new remote working opportunities, poly-working is on the upswing and trending in many industries. This poses new management risk, challenges, and maybe even opportunities for employers as they plan for the workforce of the future.

 

Potential Risks

The most obvious risk to any employer is that they’re not receiving the full value from their employees’ salary because workers are splitting their time—especially if they are working more than one full-time job in the same 40-hour work week.

 

Poly-work may also increase the risk of employee burnout. When this happens the strain of a job with Employer A compromises an employee’s health and well-being, so where does that leave Employer B?  Most likely, both employers will suffer, along with the employee’s health and well-being. 

However, the most significant and potentially serious issue with poly-working is that many employers don’t know their employees are doing it until there’s a problem.  This creates the potential for confidentiality violations, data security breaches, quality compromises, trade secrets and IP exposure, and benefits fraud, to name just a few.

 

Ask the Right Top Ten Questions to Get Ahead of This Trend          

We must face the fact that poly-working is an inevitable outcome if your company offers remote or hybrid working opportunities. It may even be here to stay as employees struggling to make financial ends meet, or to turbo-charge their income, look for supplemental work. Possibly most dangerous and costly is the opportunity for an employee to leverage intelligence and knowledge from one employer towards responsibilities at another.

 

Turning a blind eye to this trend is not advantageous to your employees or to your company. To anticipate, preempt and prepare for these challenges, ask yourself these hard questions:

 

• If someone can manage concurrent full-time jobs, do we have a larger issue at hand when our leaders don’t understand their team’s actual capacity?
• Are the workforce norms for Gen Z and beyond going to be much different than what I was taught?
• Is there a chance that this type of poly-work could become the new norm? How do we adjust our thinking on hiring, managing and retaining the best employees in this future model?
• Does the workforce of the future allow people to bring their talents to multiple employers at the same time? How do we safeguard our IP, data and client information in this case?
• Will companies that embrace a new normal be able to create unique competitive differentiations?
• Is there a moral/ethical responsibility that needs to be shared by the employee who holds multiple full time jobs?
• Have we communicated our HR policies sufficiently, and do we need to include a more specific non-compete or “single employment” clause in our employment contracts?
• Are our benefits competitive so employees do not need to seek them elsewhere?
• Are our pay structures fair and competitive?
• Are good relationships being fostered between managers and employees, and are there meaningful internal growth opportunities?

 

Managing poly-working requires your company to take an integrated approach to maintain the goal of keeping your employees happy and fulfilled, while at the same time balancing your company’s growth strategies and long-term viability.

 

Knowledge is Power

Working remotely can often create an environment where employees are “out of sight, and out of mind.”  It poses challenges to the oversight of what an employee is doing, which in turn creates significant challenges and risks for employers. We suggest the only way to answer these questions is through data.  Workforce intelligence data empowers both the employer and, in many cases, the employee, in this new era of work.

 

Sapience can help provide your company with valuable data regarding how much your employees are actually working, and where they are spending their time. This can significantly help your company decide its poly-work policies. 

 

We can also help you identify job burnout before it happens so your employees remain healthy and fulfilled.

 

Final Thoughts

Assuming poly-work is an inevitable trend in today’s workforce and is here to stay, employers offering remote work will need to embrace it and weigh the potential risks as they consider their employment policies and practices.

 

Finding and implementing the right balance between meeting employees’ demands for remote working flexibility, while protecting their organizations’ intellectual property and reputation, is key.

 

Contact us today to learn how Sapience can help you identify how poly-work is affecting your business. We are helping many large enterprises navigate these complex challenges daily with real data, not a crystal ball.